


The Owl

by AmiJolllly



Series: Children of Earth [2]
Category: Children of Earth (original story)
Genre: Battle, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-25
Updated: 2014-04-25
Packaged: 2018-01-20 19:04:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1522154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmiJolllly/pseuds/AmiJolllly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Children of Earth encounter a troop of Cethin and have to fight for their lives.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Owl

It's dark, darker even than a night without the silvery light of the moon. Flames are consuming his body. He can't breath.

\--

Slowly he becomes aware of his surroundings. Something is scratching his chin, the air smells slightly of medicine and people are walking by, talking softly. The first thing he sees, when he finally opens his eyes, is a large, grey owl sitting on the wooden vaults supporting the roof. The room is big, almost a hall. Of the two rows of beds, only half is occupied, along with the chairs next to them.  
He tries to sit up, but a thousand needles pierce his stomach and throw him back. Immediately a man dressed in a white tunica appears at his side. His long, black hair is braided. "You should stay still, sir. You lost a lot of blood." He sees the doctor move on to the next patient and frowns. His twin sister looks so pale and lies very still. It worries him.

"Kegan, you're awake!" Erion, his younger brother, runs to his bed and hugs him awkwardly as his arm's in a cast and Kegan can't sit up. Du'an and Ila enter the hall a couple of minutes later. Ila's green eyes smile from under the bandages and Du'an leans on crutches. The siblings talk for a while, but when Kegan asks why Aysu is still unconscious, the others fall silent. Ila is first to speak,"What do you remember?"

"Everything except how we got here. I also don't understand why Aysu is still unconscious. Was her wound that serious? She only got stabbed in her shoulder, right?" Ila an Erion hop onto the bed to Kegan's left and Du'an sits down in the chair. Then he starts talking quietly.  
"You remember that we were in the forest, surrounded by Cethin. Each of us was fighting three or four of them, so when I saw that they were isolating you I couldn't help."

 _Du'an avoids a claw coming his way when he sees a couple of Cethin leading his brother deeper into the woods. He kills his attacker and shouts for Kegan, but Kegan doesn't hear it. Erion pushes two of the creatures back with a gust of wind causing them to fall against one of Du'an's attackers, giving Du'an a couple of seconds to check how his siblings are holding themselves.  
Ila made a wall of stones behind her. She lost her oak stick, but is keeping the Cethin at a distance by throwing rocks and boulders at them. A couple meters further Aysu is surrounded. There is no river so she'll have to rely on her skills with the scimitar. Du'an takes a peek at her soul; Aysu is calm, she knows exactly what she's doing. Erion is on the other side of the clearing. He's fine except for a couple of scratches on his face and arms. Du'an can't see Kegan and it bothers him, but there's nothing he can do. Du'an throws himself back into the fight. He has killed one of the monsters and is fighting two others when a high scream pierces the air. Erion flies through the air, hits a tree on the other side of the meadow and hits the ground with a dull thud. An owl takes off. Erion doesn't move anymore. Du'an wants to run to his little brother, but Ila beats him to it. She stands over her brother, protecting him with all she has, not moving a single inch. Aysu uses the distraction to sprint to Du'an, killing a Cethin on the way. "Where's Kegan?" she asks, panting. Du'an nods to the trees where the Cethin drove their brother. Aysu takes off again. Two monsters notice Du'an and come closer. Du'an steps back, but the leaves are slippery from yesterday's rain. He falls and drops his sword. One of the Cethin stands over him and raises its clawed hand. Du'an closes his eyes, waiting for the blow. A hoarse scream escapes his throat as five razor sharp nails pierce his leg. The other monster makes a growling sound (it could be a laugh, but it's hard to tell) and steps on the wounded leg. Du'an hears his shin break as white-hot waves of pain crash over him. The last thing he sees is that Ila has fallen too. Her body lies over Erion's, still protecting him._

Ila takes the word from Du'an, "Aysu was protecting you. You probably know better than we what happened." Kegan nods. "One of the Cethin cut my stomach, I could barely stand."

_Aysu is keeping Kegan from getting killed. He is leaning against a tree, one hand pressed against his stomach while he throws balls of fire with the other. Three monsters attack simultaneously and it's too much for Aysu. She stumbles and one of the Cethin pushes her against her brother. They fall to the ground, side by side._

"And that's the last thing I remember." Du'an nods and starts talking again, "An owl had seen us fight and flew to the castellan to get help. The knights were right on time to save us. You know the Cethin hate horses." His words are laced with distaste, as always when he talks about the monsters. "Anyway, the knights brought us back to the castle." Kegan doesn't look happy, "I guess we have to thank the humans then." Ila laughs, "Yes, but that's for later. You have to rest now."


End file.
